


the ocean’s constellations are beautiful, but baby you shine the brightest

by stolashoots



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: College AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-12 02:24:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9051496
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stolashoots/pseuds/stolashoots
Summary: Biology sucks. Kaito's lab partner sucks even more.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Xephonia](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xephonia/gifts).



> Murry xmas!! I hope you enjoy, I plan on having more up in the coming weeks~

Kaito hates biology class. He’s spent his life up to this moment perusing the stars and ultra-reality, listening to the music of the heavens, and yearning to reach out and finally be able to piece together the puzzle of the universe. Biology is not astronomy, nor is it anything close to physics or calculus. It’s gross and hands on, pertaining to minuscule organisms and what they are comprised of, vastly different to the unimaginable reaches of space and time.

So no, Kaito does not believe biology class is worth his time at all, despite the university counselors insisting he needs to take yet another science lab before he can graduate. Fine then. This is all total bullshit, but Kaito will hand over the cash and be a good little student and sit through two hours of lecture and three hours of lab every week for fifteen weeks. It will be a waste of seventy-five-hours-plus-homework of his time, but Kaito just wants to be finished with his year and move on with his life.

On the first day of class, he stakes out a spot in the back left corner in hopes of being able to get away with ignoring the lectures and only having to deal with whoever sits at the same table as him. Kaito is a senior in a freshman class, and it’s more than easy to glare away anyone with enough confidence to try to talk to him. For a single glorious moment, he thinks that perhaps there is an odd number of students and he might be able to talk the professor into letting him complete labs on his own. Without having to worry about a partner, Kaito’s grades will be his sole responsibility and no one will be able to drag his 4.0 GPA down with them.

He’s in luck, the professor walks in right when the class is scheduled to begin and closes the door. Ten of the fifteen tables in the room are filled, and Kaito is the only one on his own. The professor begins her introductions, going over the syllabus and expectations in class as well as basic information for the first year students. Kaito opens his notebook and begins doodling. He’ll skim the textbook and pay attention during review days, but this isn’t a class he cares enough about to pay attention.

In bitter spite, Kaito sketches out a biologically impossible creature, a dragon, for Haruto to color later. Kaito would never call himself an artist, but Haruto will be delighted to get to use his crayons, and Kaito will do anything to make his little brother happy.

The classroom door opens fifteen minutes into the lecture and all of the freshmen stop scribbling away to gape at the man entering. He looks to be as young as the other first years, but he doesn’t stutter out an apology or make a fool of himself. He nods a greeting at the professor, takes a syllabus from her, and makes his way to an empty table adjacent to Kaito’s.

Kaito eyes the new student. Most likely, they will be paired together for lab work since they’re the only ones alone. Fantastic. Maybe his being late was a sign that he’d drop out of the class soon; he certainly didn’t appear to be of the studious type. It would surprise Kaito if the student was destined for liberal arts or fashion, his gaudy purple polyester jacket not something Kaito would ever expect from a STEM major.

He returns to his drawing to keep himself from staring too long. Kaito doesn’t have the time or energy to become interested in some freshman.

+

Just as he had predicted, Kaito and the student who showed up to the first class fifteen minutes late are paired together for labs. Their introductions are quick, clinical, and comprise no more than “Tenjo” and “Shark.” It’s simple, easy, and tells Kaito that Shark wants to be his friend as much as Kaito does.

The first lab is on safety and the different kinds of equipment they will be using throughout the semester and next. It’s all basic stuff with glass tubes and scales that don’t particularly interest Kaito, and while he does have an urge to pick up the magnifying glass and looks at insects with it, doing so would break his cool façade of pretending to pay attention as the professor explains how to properly measure water with a graduated cylinder. Shark has his eyes on the surgical knife and tweezers. He picks up a dull looking knife out of their shared toolkit and proceeds to cut lines in his notebook paper with it, testing its sharpness.

“Stop playing with it before she takes it away,” Kaito grumbles under his breath. The last thing he needs is for his lab partner to cut off a finger or go wild and slash someone. Shark hardly gives Kaito a look, but he does roll his eyes, cut a few more lines, and then returns the knife to the toolkit. Ugh, _freshman_. It’s going to be hell if he actually has to complete work with this guy.

“Think we’ll get to dissect something?” Shark’s voice makes Kaito jump. He hadn’t expected Shark to say anything to him unless directed to do so. Kaito looks away from the professor demonstrating how to use the anti-fire blanket to close the toolkit before Shark even gets the thought of playing with the knife again.

“How should I know?” Does Kaito look like the type who has read the syllabus already? “Be more worried about the paired research assignment. It’s half of our grade.” Okay, so perhaps Kaito has at least scanned the syllabus, but it was only to make sure nothing would conflict with his more important classes.

“Research assignment?” Shark hisses and frantically flips through his notebook to find his syllabus. He scans the two-page document twice, mumbling obscenities under his breath. One of the students in the front row asks if there will be a class pet and is shot down. Shark, finished reading over the requirements, flops back against his chair. “What are we going to do?”

Kaito knows the question is not meant to be answered, but he does so anyway. “We still have ten weeks to do it.” That gives them five weeks to figure out what to do, three weeks to actually do it, and then a final two weeks to write up individual reports.

Shark gives him a side-eye glare. “We’ll meet once a week to work on it. You won’t be dragging me down with you, Tenjo.” Shark responds in a snotty manner, as if Kaito is the slacker and Shark is the one who’s arrived on time and is already prepared for class. What a brat, though if Shark wants to take the brunt of the work then Kaito won’t stop him. Kaito wouldn’t mind riding on someone else’s coattails to survive this throwaway class.

“I’m busy most days of the week.” Kaito isn’t just trying to be difficult, he really does have things more important than this, but he doesn’t bother to explain himself to Shark. Sundays and Saturdays are spent observing the stars, preparing for calculus class takes up the majority of Monday and Wednesday, Tuesday and Thursday he has physics and biology, and Friday he has Astrology and Astronomy. And, between classes and school work, he still has to find time to spend with his little brother and call his father at least once.

“Well make time!” Shark snaps too loudly, but neither of them pays attention to the few students who turn to look in their direction. “Do you realize how difficult it’s going to be finding a natural phenomenon involving a living creature to observe that works with both of our class schedules? We’ll meet thirty minutes twice a week after biology class, starting today.”

Kaito inches away from literally and metaphorically butting heads with this kid when the professor calls out on a student.

“Kamishiro? Can you tell us the easiest way to measure the volume of an irregular object?” No doubt the professor noticed Shark and Kaito weren’t paying attention to her.

Shark slowly stands up. “You can measure an irregular object’s volume by using a graduated cylinder. Fill the cylinder half way with water, put the object inside it, and measure the difference between the milliliters before and after the object was put in the water.” Shark sits back down. The professor gives a single nod and returns to answering other student’s questions.

Kaito isn’t impressed, anyone would know of something so basic. “Fine,” he says, referring to his and Shark’s new schedule. But I’m busy after class today. We start next Tuesday.” He’ll need to inform Haruto that he’s going to be late visiting him on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a while. His little brother will understand of course; Haruto always insists that Kaito doesn’t have to spend so much time looking after him.

Kaito and Shark sit in silence for the rest of the class.


End file.
